Bukhara in Tel Aviv
by Simon Griver
The last tradition that immigrant groups tend to relinquish is their food. If that
is the case then the Bukharan restaurant in the Shapira neighborhood of South
Tel Aviv has a long future.
Indeed the proprietor of the restaurant, Mordechai Kimiagarov, who was
formerly a professor of history at the University of Dushanbe in Tadjikistan in
former Soviet Central Asia, proudly speaks of Bukharan Jewish tradition. A
tradition which began over 2,500 years ago after the destruction of the First
Temple, and some of the Jews exiled to Babylon found their way further east
to Central Asia.
But since the break up of the Soviet Union few Jews remain in Bukhara. Most
Bukharian Jews lived in Uzbekistan where there was only sporadic
anti-Semitic violence even after the break up of the Soviet Union. But
thousands of Bukharan Jews including Kimiagarov’s family had settled in the
neighboring Soviet republic of Tadjikistan.
“During the rule of the Soviet Union, there was no hatred and no pogroms as
there were in eastern Europe,” he recalled. “We were able to lead full Jewish
lives and keep our traditions. We even had a cultural center for Bukharan
Jews in Dushanbe. All the boys had a brit and bar mitzvah and the children
were taught Hebrew and the traditions. The only restriction was on Zionist
activity. We all loved Israel but we kept our sentiments to ourselves. Outward
signs of support for Israel were forbidden by the communist authorities.”
But as the former Soviet Union began breaking up the position of the Jews in
Tadjikistan became precarious. Bordering Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran,
Tadjikistan began being destabilised by pro-Iranian Moslem fundamentalists
who were virulently anti-Semitic.
“Some Jews were specifically targetted and murdered,” he recounted, “while
others were killed in the crossfire as a bitter civil war was fought between
pro-Iranian and pro-Russian forces.”
Amid the chaos, Kimiagarov, 44, who was the deputy head of the Bukharan
Jewish community helped Jewish Agency officials to organize 25 direct
flights between Dushanbe and Tel Aviv from 1989 to 1993. Thousands more
Jews were taken to neighboring Uzbekistan to be flown to Israel from
Tashkent. Kimiagarov himself emigrated secretly with his wife and two
children from Tadjikistan in 1993 after the pro-Iranians assumed power.
“Today the pro-Russians have regained control,” he explained. “But life is
still very difficult for the few hundred Jews who remain. Some have been
murdered recently by armed robbers because they are perceived to have lots
of money even though they are not especially wealthy.”
In the Shapira quarter of south Tel Aviv, Kimiagarov has built a new life. All
the shop signs in the neighborhood are in Cyrillic script as well as Hebrew
and passers by chat in Russian. But though this is one of the country’s
poorest neighborhoods, the Bukharans are proud people who know how to
help themselves.
When Kimiagarov first reached Israel he worked at odd jobs, save and
borrowed money, and eventually opened what today is a bustling Bukharan
bakery and restaurant. The complex forms part of the Bukharan Cultural
Center and Kimiagarov, who has collected 12,000 items from the Bukharan
Jewish community would like one day to open a museum in the neighborhood
too.
The community looks after its own and each day more than 70 new
immigrants, mainly Bukharan but also from other parts of the former Soviet
Union, come to the restaurant’s “soup kitchen” for a “free lunch.” An
additional 80 meals are sent out each day to “homebound” newcomers,
mainly the elderly.
“We need to take care of our own,” insisted Mordechai, known as “Misha”
to his friends. “Many people come to Israel with nothing. I couldn’t have
started my own business if friends hadn’t loaned me the money.”
Kimiagarov estimates that there are 200,000 Bukharan Jews living in Israel.
That figure includes Bukharan Jews born in Israel like his own two year-old
son Meir. “Mind you both my daughters Lilia, 17 and Leah, 8, who were born
in Tadjikistan are already like sabras,” he added proudly.
Indeed, as Kimiagarov runs around his restaurant, the walls covered with his
photos together with Israeli dignitaries like President Ezer Weizman and Tel
Aviv Mayor Roni Milo, talking on his mobile phone, joking with guests,
greeting visitors and worrying about the quality of the food, he himself seems
like the quintessential Israeli.
Related Information
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